The problem with this plan is that Russia and its leader don't want goodwill from the United States. They want a monster that can be slain with saber-rattling like in the old Cold War days - even if they have to manufacture one out of an ally. Putin isn't interested in who dies in the process in his quest to cement his legacy as the greatest leader of the NEW Soviet Union that ever was - we (not just the United States, but the International community at large) can't be so foolish as to just ignore it. The only way he can get what he wants to have us in a position of weakness - and giving his nation the only means to get to and return from the International Space Station is about the best leverage that we can give him.

Its not a matter of *if* the relationship between the United States and Russia goes bad, its *when* it goes bad if Putin remains in power.

...and I learn something new every day. Thank you for sharing that without calling me a moron. I knew it had been a few years since my last political science class, now I have something new to read up on.

One cannot simply sue a branch of the government without asking permission from the government to allow it to be sued - guess how often THAT happens? Plus is NSA has a built-in out; its in the interests of national security. Its bullshit - we all know it - but it a legal out, its the reason they can deny your FOIA request for information about Area 51, the Roswell incident, as well as the intelligence records on Jimmy Hoffa or J. Edgar Hoover.

BS - You pay unless your a college student, a citizen from another European Union country that signed an agreement with the NHS, or other select cases

From the NHS - http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/10...

I don't know about working at Microsoft being like being on antidepressants (never worked for them, don't think I'd want to), but I know that whenever I hear him talk about his next greatest game - I want to TAKE antidepressants as I know none of the shit he talks about will actually make it into the game at 1/100th the grandeur he describes. Can we say 'Master of the over-sell and the under-deliver'?

I don't have enough of a product to really HAVE a page talking about it yet (despite the fact that the product is in a two way tie with another product internally as to which is written first). I haven't discounted the idea of writing for the console - just not sure I'd take their 'exclusive for more $$$$' matching funding as I don't think I'd get the return on investment locking it to a console with such a small customer base. Their barrier to entry is definitely a plus, though (no big investment in the SDK, no media costs, no artificial limitations, etc). I just wish they had a killer, knock-out exclusive - something to really scream, "Look at us! See what the Ouya can do!".

The big problem with the Ouya is that there is no really good exclusive out there to show people what the console can really be pushed to do. So you have a lot of half-hearted ports from other platforms, pretty much limiting the sales of the product to people who haven't purchased any recent computer, game console, phone or tablet (very few indeed).

Frankly, Ouya needs to pick a product that is distinctly their market - nurture and help it be THE GAME on the Ouya to own, a reason to buy the console and controllers. Really showcasing what the system can do with the hardware its got will bring developers looking to 'one-up' that product and it really would have a shot.

Right now - its a no-mans land of retreads and badly written indie games. And I can say this as someone looking to release a product on the Ouya.

..so...you run Microsoft's internal quality assurance standard on your work?

There isn't a place for a Radio Shack that won't commit 100% to being the hobbyist shop they started to be, or an online retailer that isn't just a smaller version of Mouser or DigiKey. We already have little rat shacks everywhere on the Internet that sell soup-to-nuts, we need a retailer that is passionate about their place in the market. You can't beat the big boys on price - they can always undercut you, and if needs be - they can give product away for free until they drive you out of business. You need to be able to provide service and product that the larger competitors can't or won't - so far, Radio Shack doesn't seem to be able or willing to do it.

Agreed - article tagged !forgettableseacreature